Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Yeast Water

Further research led me to this site:
Original Yeast Water

More information on this method is hard to come by, though I did find a sourdough forum with some discussion about it.  It appears to be another ancient method of capturing yeast, possibly from or common in Japan.

Yeast water.  Could it be that simple?  

Experimentation:  I started one jar with raisins, one with a blueberry pomegranate tea bag, and one with pine needles.  I added 2 tablespoons of sugar to each.

The link says 6-7 days in winter, so hopefully I'll be baking up a storm next week. 

5 comments:

  1. I had always wondered how all the yeast recipes that people posted for doomsday scenarios were going to be baked. The explanations were always so glib, "add Fleischman (or some other brand) yeast." Then I wondered what people used before Fleischman. Now I know. I think there is some yeast water forming in a glass in the sink. just kidding.

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    1. Well, I suppose it comes down to storage and how long/severe your SHTF scenario is. If you storing a year's worth of flour than I suppose a year's worth of yeast/baking soda/baking powder also needs to be stored.

      In my story, as well as real life, I just opened a new box of baking soda and baking powder. I have no idea how long they'll last for. If TEOTWAWKI had started when I started my story, I'd be out of luck, but as it is in real life, I get to experiment with alternatives.

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  2. Just a side note- on the forum someone mentioned that Europeans used evergreen leaves in this method. I'm trying out the pine needles because they surround me. Raisins (grapes) don't grow here, and I think I'd be leery to 'waste' tea bags in this manner if it were a TEOTWAWKI situation. If it works I might be tempted to try dandelions, and definitely blueberries next summer.

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  3. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out. I wondered about the pine needles. I thought you were getting vitamin C. I think Vit C is contained in pine tea.

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  4. Update-

    Some of the pine needles have sunk, most are still floating.
    One raisin floating.
    Sourdough has a layer of yellow liquid in it.

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